Ann Carr (8 page)

Chapter Twelve

The first thing Elizabeth was conscious of was the pain. She didn’t know where it came from, only that it engulfed her entire body. She inhaled a sharp gasp and squeezed her eyes tightly shut. Afraid to open them; afraid of what she might see.

As she began to control the pain, she appreciated the softness underneath her; a bed? Where was she? Curiosity began to war with fear, what would she see when she opened her eyes?

“Elizabeth?”

What was that? That gentle whisper? Was it her imagination or was someone saying her name? Who? Dare she look? Elizabeth cracked open her eyelids a fraction, wincing in pain as bright sunlight penetrated her eyes for the first time in days. Forcing her eyes open wider, she blinked as she found herself gazing into a pair of curious blue ones. A moment later her brain realised that the eyes belonged to a child. She recognised him, but from where? Frustrated with the lack of answers her brain was giving her, Elizabeth tried to speak but only a croaky whisper left her lips, “who are you?”

“Elizabeth!
Ye’re awake!”, the boy stepped closer, joy quickly spreading across his young face.

At his eager voice her brain seemed to snap into gear, and the events of yesterday replayed themselves through her mind. Her brows knit together, was it yesterday? It seemed to have happened such a long time ago.

“How long?” she whispered, not able to force any more words past her dry lips.

Understanding, Ewan sat down next to her on the bed, and gently taking her hand between his he filled in, “
ye’ve been here for one week Elizabeth. Oh! I thought ye were never gonna wake up! I’m so happy ye have! I’ll have to send word to father; let him know the news!”

“Your father?”
Elizabeth questioned, turning her head to look around the brightly lit room. When she saw no one there she looked around again as though expecting someone to pop up from behind the furniture.

“Aye, Duncan is my father!” the boy stated proudly.

What? He was the son of the man she had just married! Impossible! What were the chances? What sort of trickery was this? Agitated, she shook her head on the soft pillow, “no!”

“Aye Elizabeth!
Ye saved father’s life, can ye remember? He brought ye back here. I dinnae know it was ye he’d married until I saw ye lying here!”

Elizabeth squeezed her eyes tight, yes she could remember running in front of Duncan, but then... nothing! Was
he ...?

“Duncan?” She sat up, ignoring the pain lancing through her, “where is he? Is he OK? What happened? Tell me Ewan!” 

Not knowing how to calm her rising panic, Ewan pushed her back down gently, careful not to cause her any more pain, “father brought ye back here, and tended to yer wound with the doctor. But the next day he was called away to help Malcolm defend his father in laws land.”

“Oh!” Elizabeth formed the word on her lips, thankful that he was safe, but she couldn’t help feeling a pang of regret that he wasn’t here with her now. For a reason that she couldn’t explain she had a feeling that his presence would make her feel a whole lot better.

“Father left me in charge while he’s away. He said I am to look after ye, make sure ye get better. He said it would keep me out of trouble!” his eyes sparkled mischievously.

Elizabeth laughed despite herself, and then immediately regretted it. No! Laughter was not a good idea at the moment, she thought.

“When will he be back?” she questioned.

“He
dinnae know, not until they’ve sorted out the trouble. But he is usually gone for a month or two.”

“Oh!” feeling slightly deflated upon hearing that, Elizabeth painted on what she hoped looked like a genuine smile upon her face, “Well, it shall give me time to recover and explore my new home won’t it? Now Ewan, if you could find someone to help me to get dressed I would much appreciate it” she smiled at him.

Pausing for a moment, Ewan cautioned, “Maybe ye should wait a while longer before getting up?”

“Ewan, I’ve been lying here sleeping this past week, don’t you think that’s enough laziness for one person?” she questioned.

Laughing, he spun around and ran to the door, calling, “I won’t be long!” In the next instant he was across the room again giving her a big hug, “I’m so glad yer going to be OK!” then he ran out of the room, leaving Elizabeth completely exhausted.

Chapter Thirteen

“I know how to cheer ye up after a long day of warfare” Sabina, one of the prostitutes that followed the men to the camp threw herself across Duncan’s lap, her arms clinging to his neck as she kissed his ear.

“I know just how to please ye Duncan, put a smile back on that pretty face of
yers” she whispered as her hand trailed a path down his stomach to rest between his legs, she started rubbing in practiced strokes, just the way he liked.

Sabina smiled as she felt the flesh beneath her fingers harden at her touch. Already she could feel her own body growing wet with anticipation at having this powerful man between her thighs once more. It had been months since she had visited his camp, but she always looked forward to it, for as a lover he put most of her other clients to shame, for he was a very skilled and considerate lover, always making sure she found her pleasure in their lovemaking before he took his own.

Sabina shifted her position until she was straddling his thighs, sitting on top of her hand which was busy stroking his hard cock, she began rocking her hips on top of him, smiling knowingly as he shut his eyes and inhaled sharply.

“Come Duncan, we will go back to
yer tent for the night.”

The sound of her voice brought him back to his senses, and very gently he pushed her up from his knees. “Not tonight Sabina” was all he said, it was all he could manage.

“Come Duncan, ye’ve said that every night for the past two weeks” she pouted, bending forward at the waist, giving him a good view of her luscious bosom, “surely yer new wife wouldnae want ye to deny yerself some pleasure amidst all this war?” she bent to kiss his lips.

“No, my wife has not said a word! It is I who
dinnae want to sample yer delights Sabina. Now that is the last time I shall tell ye. Go find some other man to pleasure!” This time he pushed her arms away more forcibly.

Knowing when to back off, Sabina turned away with a contrived pout on her lusciously painted lips. She cast her eyes around the group of men sitting around the camp fire. They had pulled up logs as makeshift benches. Her calculating eyes settled on the large man sitting on the other side of the fire. Smiling seductively, she began her approach.

“If ye know what’s good for ye Sabina, ye’ll stay away from me, for I am not as gentle as Duncan in my refusals!” Malcolm bellowed out before she made it to his side.

In a huff she marched off into the darkness. What was happening to these men? Once over they had been her best clients, now they appeared to have sworn their loyalty to their wives. Well! She huffed; see how long they can last without a real woman!

“Sabina?” she turned as one of the young soldiers called her name. Recognising him she sighed. He needed a lot of work where loving was concerned. She turned to him, dazzled him with a blinding smile, remembering how well he had paid her during his last visit. Maybe the night wouldn’t be a total loss, she mused as she took his hand, leading him back to her tent.

“She’s not making it easy for ye, is she?” Malcolm commented knowingly, as he perched on the fallen tree next to Duncan.

Laughing, he shook his head, “the crazy thing is, I
dinnae even know why I’m resisting! Marriage doesnae usually stop a man!”

“Talk for
yerself! If my Mary ever found out I’d been with another woman, my life wouldnae be worth living!” Malcolm said good naturedly.

“Ah, but she
wouldnae have to find out! I could have been enjoying myself with the desirable Sabina these past two weeks and Elizabeth would never have known it! So why can’t I?”

“Because no matter what we believe, they would know, without us saying a word they would know. Besides, even you Duncan
couldnae enjoy the pleasures of a woman’s body while yer wife lies broken back home!”

“No need to add any more pressure on me my friend!” Duncan snapped.

“I’m just giving ye another reason not to go there!”

“Truth be told Malcolm, I just
dinnae want to go to bed with any of these women. Elizabeth has somehow gotten under my skin; she’s the one whose arms I want to lay in!”

Chuckling, Malcolm clapped his friend on the back, “’tis a good sign my friend, perhaps
yer marriage will turn out better than ye supposed!” he paused. “While we are on the subject of yer wife”, he continued after a pause, “how is she doing?”

“I received a letter from Ewan a few days ago; she is awake and eager to recover as quickly as possible. No doubt causing
her own problems for my staff!” he chuckled at the thought.

“Aye and ye want to be back there helping her make a full recovery?” Malcolm sent him a lecherous wink, “the way things are going here, we might make it home before the weeks out!”

“That’s what I was thinking! I’m sure yer Mary will be happy to have ye home.”

“Aye, I’m sure I shall be a very lucky boy if you know what I mean!” he winked in a lecherous manner.

Laughing, both men lapsed into their own thoughts of their wives, both men eager to return to them.

“
Who’d've thought we’d ever be sitting in the middle of a battle field wishing we were home with our wives?” Duncan pondered aloud.

Malcolm only shook his head.

Chapter Fourteen

“Have you seen Ewan this morning Annie?” Elizabeth enquired, leaving the dining room after enjoying her breakfast. She was feeling a little deflated from having to eat alone. These past two weeks, since Mrs MacTavish had deemed it fit to let her leave her room, Ewan had been sharing breakfast with her each morning. In fact, he had spent the past two weeks just about glued to her side, mumbling something about a promise to his father.

“I think he went down to the village my Lady”. Annie replied shyly.

“Elizabeth! I had thought we’d gotten past that ‘my lady’ nonsense!” Elizabeth tried to hide the exasperation in her voice with a smile.

Blushing, the young girl curtsied clumsily, mumbling her apology as she raced into the sanctuary of the kitchen.

“Am I such an ogre?” Elizabeth sighed to herself; she had really believed she was making progress with the staff.

“Well, ye certainly don’t look like one!” Elizabeth jumped into the air and quickly spun around, hand over her heart, to where
Mrs MacTavish was standing; now serenely dusting a golden candle holder.

“I didn’t see you there
Mrs MacTavish” Elizabeth chided, now slightly embarrassed from her reaction. Anyone would think she was a child afraid of monsters and ghosts lurking in the dark hallways she berated herself.

“Maybe ye should go down to the village, see if ye can find the boy, keep him out of mischief”
Mrs MacTavish suggested.

“It’ll take a better woman than I to keep that boy out of trouble” both women laughed out loud, acknowledging that while Ewan was only a child, already he was a law unto himself, just like his father!

“Does this mean that you’re actually allowing me to leave the castle?” Elizabeth asked in mock astonishment! Teasing the old woman, who had all but forbidden her from setting foot outside.

“Perhaps it’s time for
ye to go out and explore yer land” eyes twinkling mischievously as she went on, “let the villages get a glimpse of their new mistress, and it saves us having to tell them about ye!”

Laughing, Elizabeth spun around, hurrying to the stairs, “I’ll just put on my walking boots and then I’ll be off”
, she took the steps two at a time, joyful in the prospect of going down to the village.

Shaking her head in amusement,
Mrs MacTavish went back to her cleaning.

Dressed in a thick green dress and her shining walking boots, Elizabeth eagerly walked out from the protective gates of the castle and down the winding path towards the village.

It was a glorious spring day and the sun was sparkling brightly in the sky, giving out just enough heat to allow her to
leave her cloak behind. Bouncing down the steep hill, Elizabeth paused when she heard a loud bleating noise, scanning her surroundings she managed to make out a little ball of dirty white fluff in the long grass. A lamb! She thought joyously, taking a step towards it only to be overtaken by its mother, who frantically gathered him up with her other two babies. It was times like this when she missed her own baby, Sunny, who she’d been forced to leave behind when she’d set out to Scotland. Still she knew her faithful hound was in good hands, Richard had promised to care for the dog in her absence.

Leaving them to their family reunion, Elizabeth continued her descent into the village, wondering why she had left it so long to come down, just look what she’d been missing out on!

The shout that went up when she was first spotted took her aback completely; all the villages paused in their daily tasks and turned to openly stare at her. All that Elizabeth was able to do was stare back, mouth agape, at a complete loss as to what to do or say next.

Oh, why had she allowed
Mrs MacTavish to talk her into coming down here today? She should have waited longer! Waited until Duncan was home, surely he would have known what to say! He wouldn’t have stood in front of them, mouth hanging open as she was now!

Panic building, her heart now beating loudly in her ears, she was
paralysed with indecision about what to do next!

She nearly sagged with relief when the sound of a high pitched squeal took everyone’s attention away from her, the crowd
turned in stunned silence as a fat little pink piglet raced through the centre of the village, followed closely by a dirty little imp. Arms outstretched trying to catch the little porker!

So this is why Ewan was missing from breakfast she mused
, smiling, and laughter brimmed to the surface at the picture the pair made in front of her.

Throwing an apology back over her shoulder at the assembled villages, all standing in various stages of
humour, Elizabeth wasted no time in racing after the boy herself.

They hadn’t gotten far, for on the other side of the village the little pig had found a big patch of mud from the previous day’s rainfall and gleefully belly flopped into the middle of it! It didn’t take much consideration before Ewan was following him in, diving into the mud after it!

Doubled over with laughter, Elizabeth was unable to get the words past her lips to chide him for his behaviour. She could hear from the laughter behind her that some of the villages had followed her to see what trouble the young master was causing today and were having just as hard a time controlling themselves as she was.

“I’ve got him!” Ewan exclaimed in glee as his dirty arms encircled the wiggling pink animal. Ewan heaved the pig out from the mud and promptly lost his balance, falling backward into the mud again, the pig now sitting on top of him.

Ewan became aware of his audience as the laughter erupted around him. As he turned his head his eyes fell upon the woman standing at the front of the crowd. Oh-Uh! Elizabeth! He was thinking of sinking into the mud and hoping she didn’t recognise him when she took a step forward, holding out her hand.

“Come on Ewan! I’ll help pull you and your friend out of there!” Elizabeth was trying her hardest to keep the laughter out of her voice, succeeding until Ewan meekly looked up and questioned, “
you’re not angry?”

As she answered the question with laughter Ewan felt the relief sweep through him, for he truly had not meant to cause any trouble here this morning.

“Come on Ewan; your hand?” Elizabeth reminded. When his dirty hand settled into hers she pulled with all her might. Just as Ewan almost reached an upright position the little pig began to struggle, concentrating on not losing him Ewan lost his footing again, tumbling sideways.

Elizabeth watched it happen as if in slow motion, the mud getting closer and closer before she landed face first in the cold sticky mess.

This time there was no laughter from the gathered crowd, instead they stared on in stunned silence, not quite knowing how to react, or how their mistress would react.